The Final Plan
by BCSWowbagger
Summary: As fate -- and Kira -- close in on L, L puts his final contingency plan in motion. He explains the situation to Watari -- as well as the price. Insertfic for Episode 25 "Silence". Complete as-is, but could be continued.


**A/N: This is either a oneshot or the beginning of a novel. I'm not really sure. Please R it will help me decide whether to pursue it or not. Major spoilers for Episode 25, during which this fic takes place. Inspiration: my belief that L always has a plan. _Always. _[Everything is in italics because, from the perspective of my idea for a novel, this entire scene is a flashback]**

"_What's the matter, Ryuzaki?"_

_ I stay quiet. _

_I came here, to Watari's control room, in my usual temper. One part of my mind bubbled with facts, analysis, specific objectives – a plan. Another part considered everything that could go wrong with my plan, and what I would do if it did. Only a small section of my foremost brain was concerned with the person in front of me, and, even there, what I was doing was not so much conversing as… testing._

_I am always testing._

_Light Yagami is a liar. I am a sifter of lies._

_ But now…_

_ Now, my tests… don't matter. Can't. Can they?_

_ "What's wrong?"_

_ There is only one person alive who can read my face as well as Watari. The reason for my visit. Light Yagami._

_ "There are three things you must know, Watari. First, Light Yagami is Kira."_

_ Watari already knew this, of course. He trusts my instincts as no other member of the Task Force ever will. My instincts – my _intellect_ – have never for one moment given me reason to suspect any other person than Light Yagami. Every piece of concrete evidence points to him, and his latest defense hinges on a transparent deception. There's no doubt: Light _is_ Kira. Watari and I have known this for months._

_ Still… it feels good to say it aloud._

_ "Second. Within the next hour, I am going to die."_

_ Watari inhales sharply. It makes a noise that sounds like, "Wha!" If this were Matsuda he'd be shouting an angry denial right now, like St. Peter at the Last Supper. But Watari knows better than to doubt me – no matter how much he would like to. He asks only: "How?"_

_ I suddenly feel tired. I drop to the ground, legs stretched out in front of me in a sitting position I haven't taken since I was a child. My mind relaxes. Normally, I would never allow this, but now… I know _everything_ that is going to happen to me up until the moment of my death, and quite a bit of what will happen after. Why _not_ relax? It feels good to be out of my crouch for once._

_ Watari is waiting for an answer. I have to admit I can't give him one._

_ "I don't know." This, I think, surprises Watari even more than my revelation of imminent death. But it's the honest truth. "The obvious choice is Misa. Thanks to the new wave of killings this morning, we can be assured that she has regained her powers as the Second Kira. I don't know if _all_ her memories have returned, but I believe she _probably_ still has the power to kill while only knowing the victim's face. She's no longer under observation, which gives her the opportunity, and she's certainly seen my face before. The only problem is, if she _could_ still kill with a face, I'd probably be dead already._

_ "Option two is Light himself. It would certainly fit with his perverse sense of justice for Kira to want to carry out my execution himself. But Light _is_ under observation, and he doesn't have access to a notebook. Higuchi's is in my possession, and the second notebook is presumably with Misa."_

_ Watari interrupts. "A second notebook." Not quite a question._

_ "Yes. No doubt Light hid it somewhere before he forfeited his memories – somewhere secluded, probably underwater, or buried – and had Misa dig it up now that he's become Kira again. But, thanks to Misa's little stunts on Sakura TV before we apprehended her, we can be certain that there is another notebook besides Higuchi's – and that Misa now has it."_

_ "Then it's Misa?"_

_ "Well, whoever kills me, it will be on the orders of Light Yagami. Kira will kill me, one way or another. But, if you mean who's the one who'll write my name in a notebook, I don't think it will be Misa after all."_

_ "Who, then?"_

_ "If I had to bet my life on it… I'd say Rem."_

_ "The shinigami?"_

_ "Yes. He's the one I can't account for, the one I don't completely understand. I don't know all his powers. I don't know when he's lying or telling the truth. Above all, I don't know his motives."_

_ "Do gods of death have such a thing as motive?"_

_ I smile faintly. "If nothing else, I know _some_ gods of death love apples." The smile fades quickly; my analytical powers reassert themselves. "The problem is, Light – Kira, now that his memories have returned – knows everything about Rem. He has me at a disadvantage – one I could not have predicted and could not prepare for, but a fatal one nonetheless. Against someone with Light's intelligence… I cannot hope to avoid his trap. The death blow will come today, Watari."_

_ "Ryuzaki, you said you'd die within an hour. If you are not even sure _who_ is going to kill you, how can you know _when_ it will happen?"_

_ No hesitation. "Because I am going to cause it."_

_ He doesn't inhale this time. Watari… smiles. "And that is why you are here."_

_ "Exactly." I feel it all surge back. Energy shoots through my veins. My mind races ahead of my lips and I am exhilarated. You see, I have a plan. It is my last plan._

_And my greatest._

_I talk quickly. "The notebook says that every user must kill at least once every thirteen days or die. It's the only thing preventing convictions for Light Yagami and Misa-Misa. I think that rule is a fake. Watari, in one hour I need you to call me on my cell phone. I will come downstairs. If anyone asks what is happening, tell them that we've arranged to test the notebook using condemned criminals in another country."_

_ "Is that true?"_

_ "It doesn't matter. _Announcing_ the test is what matters. It's the last piece of the case, so announcing the test will activate any contingency plans Light has in place. If I am not dead within… two minutes of our explaining our plans, then Light is not Kira, and we can continue our investigation from the assumption that the thirteen-day rule is true."_

_ "What are the odds that that will happen?"_

_ "Zero. The thirteen-day rule is a fake. Light Yagami is Kira. And I am going to die."_

_ I say the words aloud, as I have said them a hundred times to myself, and I still don't really feel anything. Is that bad? Silence hangs for a moment. _

_ "Isn't there some way you could escape?" Watari finally asks. He thinks he knows the answer. He's wrong._

_I look away and whisper. "Yes."_

_ I don't think Watari is surprised. He only wants to understand. Even if that were not his right, I am happy to oblige. I race on._

_ "I _could_ write my own name in the notebook. I learned from my discussion with the shinigami that it operates within a twenty-three day window, which means that if I write my name in the notebook to die of, say, natural causes any time before November 28, my fate would be locked in, and no one else trying to kill me with a notebook would be able to do so … although I would, of course, still die when the twenty-three days are up."_

_ Watari's face softens, as it has done only twice before in my lifetime. It means he is going to argue. It is Watari, so I do not mind. "L…" he begins, "Ryuzaki. Those are twenty-three days _worth_ living. Even if it's not the full life I imagined for you—"_

_ But this is not the argument I want to have. I silence him with a raised hand and I hard gaze, then explain. "It's not that I don't want to go on living, even for just twenty-three days. I promise you. I… I could do a lot of good in a month. I'd like to … Change the worLd."_

_ And this is all true. But there is one thing that suggests – _demands_ – that I take this course, and none other._

_ "However: in order to get the freedom I need to complete this investigation… I must die. Now."_

_ I want to explain myself. Watari deserves that explanation, especially in light of what I am going to say next. But I cannot hear myself think anymore. The bells are too loud, and I have feet to wash._

_ "There is one more thing, Watari. There is a slim possibility that this will kill you, too." Watari nods calmly, but I reassure him anyway. "The odds are very low. No more than 8%." But his expression doesn't change. He only nods again. Suddenly, I realize that Watari knows me too well._

_ He knows as well as I do: I only use percentages when I'm lying._

**END**_  
_


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